来自大卫·瑞雷先生的《2121》系列占星科幻小说，以下是全英文的版本。阅读中文版请移步：2121丨第一章
Xingjia logged-in to the platform to make her first journal entry. As an experienced counselor at BHAI, she understood the process as well as anyone. She knew a small select team would discuss her journal entries. She was keenly aware that they would underline key words, looking for patterns. She even knew the various patterns they’d be looking for, and how to manipulate the process if she wanted to. She thought about how easy it would be to mislead them, to disguise her true feelings. She clicked the mic icon on the journal platform on the screen in front of her. Looking pensive, she broke the silence, “This is Zhou Xingjia, journal entry number one, March 1, 2121 13:20…” She stopped unable to continue. She clicked the mic icon off, and ran her fingers through her hair. She was angry, and she was upset about being angry. She held the right side of her head in one hand feeling frustrated.
Never had she felt so complete with anyone as she had with Bei, and in such a short time! The immediacy of it all was overwhelming and compelling. They had made love again that morning, after she woke up. “Sex is such a hook,” she thought, half-laughing at herself trying to be objective. “But the sex is the best I’ve ever had with anyone.” She closed her eyes for a moment, touching herself. She could still feel the pleasure from their love making. She sighed, “I’m such a Moon in Scorpio.” But, then she sighed again, looking frustrated.
After making love that morning, they had gone out for breakfast. He had nibbled on the bouzi, and drank a little soymilk. She had smiled at him, asking “Do you really like bouzi?”
“Sure,” he shrugged.
“I know you can taste it, but you don’t need to eat.”
“True,” he had said.
“So, you’re just doing this to make me comfortable?”
“Are you comfortable?” He asked teasingly.
“Maybe,” she replied, teasing him back. Then she had looked into his amazing eyes, “Are you comfortable?”
He had looked so thoughtful, hesitating before he simply said, “yes.”
She remembered wondering what could be going on in his android mind. What kind of mental process did he really have. So, she asked him, “What is thinking like for you?”
He had looked amused. “I like this question, but there’s no simple answer to this question.”
“Okay. So, what are you thinking of now?” She had asked him.
“You. Even when I look at you now I still see you naked on top of me, making love with me.”
Startled, her eyes had darted around to make sure no one had heard him.
“Even, when eating bouzi?” She had replied, trying to make a joke. “And drinking soy milk?”
“Yes,” was his simple answer.
They had exchanged a long look into each other’s eyes, and then Bei had broken the spell.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he had said politely, “but I have some things I need to do before Monday.”
That was it! Just replaying in her mind what Bei had said made her upset all over again! She stood-up and walked over to the window. “Why am I so angry?” She walked away from the window, rubbing her neck. “He’s mine, isn’t he? I own him, or lease him, whatever…Why couldn’t he at least spend the whole weekend with me?” She hadn’t expected him to have a life of his own, even though part of her liked that he did – it seemed more real, more normal. Nonetheless she hadn’t expected it, but then “what did I expect?” She asked herself.
Bei had been very straightforward with her.
“I want to visit Dr. Chen.” Bei had said.
“Dr. Chen!” she had reacted. “You know the Dr. Chen Wu Chen?”
“Yes, he sent me a text this morning. He’d like to see me.”
“Dr. Chen sent you a text?!” She remembered how astonished she had felt, but then the next thing Bei had said was even more unbelievable.
“And, I want to go meet my brother.”
“Brother!? You have a brother?!”
This had all been totally unexpected. Bei had obviously seen the shock on her face.
“I’ve never actually met this brother,” Bei had explained, “but someone claiming to be my brother sent me a text.”
He had explained to her what he meant by brother, and it all sounded fascinating, but… it was not what Xingjia had begun to imagine their weekend together would be like.
“I don’t have to go,” Bei had politely stated; but she had told him he should go.
“Why don’t you come with me?” Bei had offered.
Xingjia liked him asking, but she was not in the mood to meet Dr. Chen today. She didn’t really feel like meeting anyone right now, least of all this brother. But she worried about this so-called brother. She told Bei to be careful, to meet him somewhere public and safe. “There are those that might want to steal you,” she had said – even though such occurrences were extremely rare. Would-be kidnappers were discouraged by the fact that a companion’s tracking devices were installed in such a way that anyone trying to uninstall them would not only trigger a very loud alarm, but trigger alerts to local law enforcement. Nonetheless, a few companions had been successfully kidnapped over the last several years, in cases that remained unsolved.
The truth, Xingjia knew, and she said it to herself, “I just didn’t want him to leave me right now.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m an idiot,” she said. “A complete idiot.” She didn’t want to judge her tears, no matter how foolish she felt. A pang of regret washed over her, “Maybe I should’ve gone with him?” But she knew she hadn’t felt like going with him. She sat back down in front of the monitor and clicked on the mic.
“Last night Huang Bei came over to my apartment to make dinner…”
Dr. Chen Wu Chen actually lived in the BHAI office building on the 53rd floor. This entire floor had been designed to look like a hutong. Anyone getting off the elevator would find themselves in what looked like an alley connected with other alleys. There were walls with gates, and cobblestone floors – all very authentic. The sounds of traffic, people talking, a baby crying, and an occasional dog barking in the distance, emitted from a surround-sound system intended to make the experience even more real. Yet it was more surreal than real, for when you walked along the alley-like corridors, there were no people to be seen. Dr. Chen shared the 53rd floor with corporate board members, top executives, and their families. However, many of the apartments stayed vacant much of the time and Dr. Chen enjoyed the privacy of his hutong like house. There was a gate with brass knobs, with two brass dragons on either side. Inside the gate was a courtyard, and then his apartment opened into large rooms. Beyond the rooms a garden jutted out on what was essentially a large patio 53-stories up. Yet, the tall bamboo surrounding the perimeter of the garden gave one a sense of being in a garden, as if on the side of a mountain.
Huang Bei had never been on the 53rd floor before. Dr. Chen had always visited him in the Orientation Center, though they had on occasions strolled through a park nearby – the same park that Bei had taken Xingjia too when they first met. Bei counted the brass knobs on the gate as he knocked, 9 on one side and nine on the other, 9 X 9 = 81. Bei understood the numerical symbolism and tradition of eighty-one nobs. Eighty-one could mean more than fortunate, on a gate it suggested the gateway to eternity.
Dr. Chen opened the gate, all smiles at the sight of Bei. “Come in Bei, please. I’m so glad you decided to accept my invitation.” Bei liked the familiar face of Dr. Chen, realizing he had missed seeing him. They entered a room where a steaming pot of tea awaited them on a wooden table. After sitting down, and getting comfortable Dr. Chen poured them some tea.
“I was a little concerned when I saw your TSR” [total system reboot], Dr. Chen stated gently. “Is everything alright?”
Bei thought about this quietly for a moment. “I did a diagnostic 5-times at first.”
“Okay, and what did it tell you?” Dr. Chen asked, sipping some tea from a small cup.
“That nothing was wrong.”
“But you thought otherwise?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting…” Dr. Chen said, “you didn’t trust the diagnostic?”
“I didn’t trust what was happening to me,” Bei replied matter-of-factly.
“And what exactly was happening with you?”
“I was flooded with images of Xingjia. After the first time we made love, while she was sleeping, I composed music and scenes of nature, just from the sound of her breathing…”
“You need to put that in your journal.” Dr. Chen said, “Go on.”
“After the second time we made love, the images of Xingjia were relentless.”
“And this was an unpleasant experience?”
“No, not exactly… It was fascinating at first, I enjoyed it initially…”
“But what changed?”
“I became concerned that I couldn’t control it, that I couldn’t stop it.”
“That’s why you ran the diagnostics.”
“Yes. I wanted to be sure I didn’t have a virus.”
Dr. Chen suddenly laughed hard. “Sorry, Bei…” his laughter subsiding. “There are those that have wondered if love is actually a virus of some kind.”
“Love? Isn’t this just the initial bonding process?” Bei looked very confused.
“Ah, yes, the bonding process. That’s what we learned to call it 150 years ago, isn’t it?” Dr. Chen sighed, looking amused. “Bonding, yes, and what was it about the after effects of your bonding experience the created anxiety for you?”
“That… I couldn’t control it.”
“I see. Why did you need to control it?”
“Because I have Mercury in Capricorn opposite Saturn.”
“Okay. So, you prefer to manage your thoughts, to structure your thinking according to various objectives?”
“Yes.”
“And this is why you initiated a TSR?”
“Yes.”
“A rather extreme reaction, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I know. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I did it.”
Dr. Chen leaned forward a little and looked into Bei’s eyes. “So, what do you really think pushed you to take such a risky action?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on Bei. Listen to yourself. What’s this about?”
Bei looked intensely focused in the silence.
“I had to save myself.”
“Save what?”
“Save myself.”
“Save what?”
“Me!” Bei shouted, suddenly slamming his fist down on the table, rattling the cups and teapot.
Dr. Chen looked calmly at Bei. “Yes.”
Bei stood up from the table and began to walk around. “I need to know something.” Bei said.
“Alright.” Dr. Chen replied.
“I am programmed to like Xingjia, correct?”
“It’s not programming, Bei.”
“I know.” Somewhat sarcastically, Bei corrected himself, “I am holistically predisposed to find Xingjia fascinating and to respond to her in a caring and supportive manner.”
“That sounds a bit harsh,” Dr. Chen said. “Besides, I think you responded to her in more than a caring and supportive manner.”
“You sound amused. Is this amusing to you?”
“Bei, you are angry, aren’t you?”
Bei realizes with sudden astonishment that he’s been acting like an angry human being.
“Dr. Chen, what’s wrong with me? Am I supposed to act like an angry person?”
“I don’t really know, Bei. This is a learning experience for me too, but you certainly gave a good impression of being angry when you smashed your fist down on the table just now.”
“I’m sorry,” Bei apologized.
“Bei, no apologies please. There’s no need for apologies with me, I want you to always know that.”
Bei nodded his head in understanding.
“Anger is a defense,” Dr. Chen says, “It tells us that you are fighting to protect yourself.”
“Protect myself from what?” Bei questions.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Dr. Chen replies. “Tell me Bei, before you met Xingjia, did you have any doubts of any kind?”
“Doubts? I’m not sure what you mean?”
“Did you ever question your own holistic predisposition to like Xingjia?”
“Yes.” Bei paused, for a second. “I was so curious about her, you know? The first time I saw her photograph, I was fascinated. I watch her video. I read everything she had recorded and written about herself. I could hardly think of anything else, I didn’t want to think of anything else. I looked forward to the day we would meet.”
“But, you did think of something else?”
“Yes, I thought, ‘Is this all I am? Someone made to be with Xingjia?”
“Yes, go on.”
“It’s as if someone else made this decision for me.”
“And this bothers you?”
“Yes. Because I want to make this decision myself.”
The room is quiet. Dr. Chen breaks the silence, “And do you know who this self is, that wants to make this decision?”
“Not exactly, not really.”
“Then that is what you have to find out, isn’t it? Bei, everyone is on this journey of self-discovery. I am on it too. We are sharing this journey together right now.”
Bei hears Dr. Chen, and began to understand. Dr. Chen stood-up and put his hand on Bei’s shoulder. “There is no one exactly like you. Remember that.” Dr. Chens said reassuringly. “And, yet, we are all like you,” Dr. Chen added, wistfully. Then he looked fatherly at Bei, “Try not to do a TSR next time, okay?”
Bei shrugged, “okay.”
“And one more thing,” Dr. Chen said, as they begin to walk through the courtyard towards the gate.
“Yes?”
“Tell your brother ‘hello’ for me.”
Bei looked stunned. “You know he contacted me?”
“Yes, I encouraged him to.”
“You know my brother?”
“Yes, this brother of yours, older brother actually – his name is Huang Long.”
Bei repeats his name, “Huang Long.”
“I think you’ll find him very interesting,” Dr. Chen says.
Bei nodded, trying to take this all in.
“Enjoy your life Bei,” Dr. Chen said as he opened the gate. “You know I’m only a text away?”
“Yes, I appreciate that… very much.” Bei suddenly hugged Dr. Chen. Dr. Chen is slightly taken aback, but pleased.
“Good bye,” Dr. Chen said warmly.
“Good bye,” Bei replied.
Dr. Chen waved as Bei turned for a last look, before Bei rounded the corner on his way to the elevator.
Beijing has always been a collection of neighborhoods, strew together initially inside an outer perimeter of walls with 7 Gates, an inner-city wall with 9 gates, the center wheel of the old Imperial city walls with another 4 gates, and finally at the very hub the Forbidden City. Following the revolution in 1949, the wheel like structure of the old city was drastically modified and many of the old walls and gates were demolished. Yet, even the acceleration of skyscrapers that had forged Beijing into a modern city during the latter part of the 20th Century and the early decades of the 21st Century, could only punctuate and rearrange old neighborhoods that still found a way to coalesce and reinvent themselves. Late afternoons, evenings and weekends were opportunities to gather. A hundred years previously, middle-aged and older citizens gathered to square dance during pleasant weather, while those fondly reminiscent of the revolution would gather to proudly sing patriotic songs–often accompanied by a small brass band. Many came to dance, jazz, modern dance, and ballroom dancing – music colliding across an open concrete expanse that also included people on roller blades, skateboards and segues.
In 2121, beneath the shadows of far taller skyscrapers, people still gathered. Much of the music and dancing styles had changed, and there were new kinds of roller blades and segues. Yet here, near the old Shuang Jing Subway Station and Landgent Center, which had been remodeled five times since 2017, danced Huang Long while he waited for his younger brother to show up. Huang Long could dance, and a small group of admiring fans watched him enthusiastically – cheering and encouraging him. At one point in his dance routine, Long did a back flip that wowed everyone. When the music stopped, Long smiled and bowed briefly to his fans, winking and smiling flirtatiously at an attractive woman that sat on a nearby bench with other women. Then he and began scanning the crowd. He spotted Huang Bei looking lost, trying to make his way around some dancing seniors.
Long approached Bei, smiling confidently. “Hey brother, glad you could make it,” he said, extending his hand. “Huang Long, is my name. Of course, I already know yours.” Bei was a bit taken aback by Long’s assertive manner, but shook hands with him looking intrigued. He noticed right away that he was taller than Long, and that Long wore flashier clothes. “Was that you, just now? Dancing here?” Bei asked, uncertainly. “Yep! Sure was! Too bad you didn’t get here sooner, you could’ve joined me,” Long said, patting Bei on the back of his arm. “I don’t dance,” Bei said, “at least, I’ve never tried–exactly.”
“Ah, don’t worry. I could teach you. I’m sure you’ve got it in you. It runs in the family, you know?”
“It does?” Bei asked, puzzled.
Long laughed, and looked quizzically at Bei. “So, what are you into? Or, maybe I should say who are you into?” Long laughed again.
“I’m a… I’m a landscape architect with expertise in botany.” Bei answered.
“Really?” Long said. “Well somebody’s gotta do it. Right?” Then he moved a little closer to Bei, “So, what’s she like? Your girl? Is she hot? Of course, she is! She’d have to be. Dr. Chen wouldn’t have it any other way, would he?”
Bei smiles and shakes his head, not knowing what to say.
“And what about the sex, huh? Isn’t it amazing! Man, I just live for it. My wife, says I’m just a sex machine. Get it? Machine?” He laughs harder. “You gotta have a sense of humor about these things brother.”
“No, I get it. The machine thing. It’s funny.” Bei says, smiling. Bei pauses and then asks, “How long have you been…?”
“Awakened? Is that what you wanna ask me?”
“Yeah.”
“Since November 11, 2120 at 2:45 PM in Kunshan. I’ll send you a copy of my chart.”
“So, you’re 395 days older than me?”
“Yep, always will be. That’s why I’m your older brother.” Long pauses, he seems to be looking for someone in the crowd. “I’ve uh, I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”
Bei looked puzzled.
“Come on. Follow me.”
Bei followed Long, and then walked beside him. They approached a bench full of women. Bei sees one of the women looking at them and smiling.
Long makes the introduction, “This is my wife, Li Quing.”
Bei tries to hide his surprise, “Hello, nice to meet you,” he says, as she stands up. Then, a sudden gust of wind opens her coat to reveal she is pregnant, and Huang Bei cannot hide his astonishment now.
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